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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26780272">A Costly Choice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_are_eternal/pseuds/stars_are_eternal'>stars_are_eternal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober Collection 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hawaii Five-0 (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt, Execution, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:01:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,748</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26780272</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_are_eternal/pseuds/stars_are_eternal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 2 prompt for Whumptober: "Pick Who Dies"</p><p>When Five-0 puts a drug lord behind bars, the last thing anybody expected was for Tani, Junior and Koa, Tani's younger brother, to be kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse outside of Honolulu. There, Tani is faced with the most difficult decision in her life: does she kill Junior and save Koa, or does she choose her boyfriend over her own brother.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober Collection 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Costly Choice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>From the outside and to the unsuspecting person passing by, it looked like a normal warehouse. It was a bit on the rough side, with a few broken windows and some greenery growing out from the roof as well as all around it, giving it a feel of abandoned and not having been used for years. Inside, however, were six people, three out of which were going through a nightmare then and there. The three in question were Tani, Junior and Koa, and the remaining three henchmen of one of the drug lords they recently put behind bars. One was standing behind Tani, making sure she remained on her knees and facing Koa and Junior, while the other two were behind the them, one of them holding a gun in his hands that went back and forth between her brother and boyfriend.</p><p>"We don't have the whole day, sweetheart." The voice of the man was cold, underlined with slight malice as he gave Tani a smirk. "All you have to do is choose which one gets to live, and which one gets to die. Simple as that, innit?"</p><p>Tani simply glared at the man, wishing looks could kill, wishing that this situation never came to be. How could she possibly make a choice? How could she condemn either of them to such a fate? Koa was the only family she had left, and Junior the man she loved unconditionally, the guy that managed to break through all her protective and self-sabotaging walls and who loved her for the goof and child she was at times. “I can’t…. I c-can’t do it…” Tani whispered, trying not to show just how much this was affecting her. She desperately tried to keep a cool head, to make sure she’d be as sassy as it got to buy them some time, deep down praying that the rest of the team was on their way.</p><p>“Who will it be then? Your brother, or your boyfriend?”</p><p>Tani remained silent for a while, eyes going back and forth between Koa and Junior, watching how Koa downright shook from fear while Junior looked as composed as he could be, just like they taught him in the navy. He knew that showing fear or any kind of weakness would give the henchmen more advantage and possibly make Tani even more panicked. While he didn’t say a word, he gave Tani an encouraging look, hoping that it would help, even if a little bit. She had to remain strong through this, no matter how hard it would be, and well, if it came down to it, he’d offer his own life if it meant that Tani and Koa got to live. Usually he’d crack a joke himself, say something snarky, anything to avert the henchmen’s attention from Tani, though even he knew that the situation was more than serious. Any wrong word could push the guy holding the gun into the wrong direction, rile him up the wall and force him to press the trigger sooner than needed, which was hopefully never. Tani had a good grasp on the situation and the burden put on her shoulders. At least, it looked like it.</p><p>The sad truth was, Tani was close to crumbling.</p><p>She looked at the man with the gun, giving him almost a pleading look. It came to that real fast, the fear of losing either of them putting so much emotional pressure on her. She felt responsible, and she was, in so many ways, especially for Koa, her baby brother. So here she was, on her knees, pinned down by one of the henchmen and forced to make a decision she would regret her whole life, but ready to plea, hoping to achieve something that probably would never go through.</p><p>“Please… at least let my brother go. He was never part of any of this! He didn’t do anything. None of this is his fault.”</p><p>Her words were met with a laugh, the man shaking his head in a mocking manner. “Sweetie, how dumb do you think I am? You honestly believe I would let him go, so the first thing he does is alert the cops? I don’t think so. In fact, this little trick just earned you a penalty. You have three minutes to decide who gets to walk out alive with you.”</p><p>Tani let out a whimper, her eyes instantly filling with tears. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t. She shook her head, refusing to utter a name. “No… please… p-please… don’t make me do this… I don’t want to do this…” She stubbornly shook her head, tears now streaming down her cheeks, shoulders shaking against the strong hands of the man holding her down. It was a living nightmare that would haunt her for the rest of her life, regardless of what decision she could make. Her mouth opened, then closed again, her voice just refusing to come out just yet.</p><p>“Two minutes, sweetie. You netter make your decision fast.”</p><p>“I…. I choose….”</p><p>“Tani,” Junior interrupted her. “Pick me. Don’t make this too hard on yourself and pick---” He received a blow in the back of the head by the guy who stood behind him, while the man with the gun sneered at him.</p><p>“Let her choose. It’s her decision. She’s the one who will have to live with the rest of her life with it.”</p><p>There was just so much pressure on her, so much of it. Tani felt lost and cornered, helpless like an infant, unable to help Koa and Junior and unable to call for help. She shut her eyes closed, letting more tears fall as she let her head hang low. She couldn’t look either of them in the eye. “I choose…” She took a deep, albeit shaky breath. “J-Junior.”</p><p>Satisfied with the given answer, the man grinned maliciously and pressed the gun against the pack of Junior’s head, ready to shoot, when suddenly…</p><p>“Stop! Wait! Wait I… I changed my mind.”</p><p>The man frowned, but switched from Junior to Koa, who drew a shaky breath and closed his eyes, preparing himself for the worst to come.</p><p>“N-no! Kill… kill Junior…”</p><p>“Make up your mind already! Ten seconds or I kill all three of you. Ten.”</p><p>Tani finally looked up, face completely stained with tears as she looked at Junior. “June… I love you so much.”</p><p>“Nine.”</p><p>“I love you so, so much. And Koa…”</p><p>“Eight.”</p><p>“I love you too. You… You’re the best baby b-brother I could wish for…”</p><p>“Seven.”</p><p>“I’m s-so proud of you, and… and what you did with your life, how you grew…”</p><p>“Six.”</p><p>She fell silent then. There was no logic in making such a choice. She had to choose between two men that were very important to her, two guys she knew loved her and would stick with her through everything.</p><p>“Five.”</p><p>Whoever she chose, she would lose part of her, part of her life. What would stalling do? They’ll all die if she stalled any longer. The team would already be there by now, get all of them out. All they’d do then was look at this day as a bad memory and move on.</p><p>“Four.”</p><p>Why was this happening? Why wasn’t anybody coming to get them out? Did nobody realize how long they were gone, that they didn’t answer texts or calls? Why did such a heavy burden have to fall on her shoulders?</p><p>“Three.”</p><p>She couldn’t handle it. Tani couldn’t handle the pressure any longer. She desperately wanted to reach out to both, hug them, assure them that no matter the outcome, all would be fine, that they’d be fine.</p><p>“Two.”</p><p>One last time, Tani looked at Koa, then at Junior, eyes repeatedly filling with tears. She felt a big lump in her throat.</p><p>“On—”</p><p>“Junior.”</p><p>Instantly, the gun was fired. Tani let out a painful sob as Junior’s now lifeless body hit the ground. Koa was staring, shocked, while the henchman gave a triumphant smirk. He, however, still wasn’t done. Without a single warning, he turned the gun to Koa and shot once more. Tani let out an almost blood curdling scream as she watched her brother fall to the ground as well, his now lifeless eyes still focused on her.</p><p>“That one’s for stalling and wasting my time.”</p><p>A simple head motion towards the door was enough to get the guys moving, the door to the abandoned warehouse opening and closing moments later. Tani crumbled to the ground, and curled up, wrapping her arms around herself as if that would help take away all the pain and sorrow she felt. Her whole body shook as she sobbed with her head buried between her shoulders. She failed. She failed them both. She failed in keeping them safe and alive. How could she ever let that happen?</p><p>In the distance, police sirens went off and rapidly approached the area, eventually coming to a stop. Somebody must have noticed something was off and called it in. The door opened, countless footsteps rushing in, a whole S.W.A.T. unit led by Steve and Danny, though none of them said a word as they approached the scene. It was a too big of a shock once they took it in. Danny glanced over at Steve, who was just as shocked as he was. A few moments passed and he gave him a pat on the shoulder before moving away.</p><p>“I need paramedics and a coroner on site. Abandoned warehouse on Lā-'ī road north of Honolulu.”</p><p>Danny’s voice seemed but a whisper, distant and fading by the minute. Tani kept crying, refusing to acknowledge anybody around her. She could hear somebody slowly approach – it was Steve – and place a hand on her shoulder in comfort. Eventually, Tani would come to appreciate it. Eventually, she would recover, heal as much as she would allow herself to. The ohana would be there to help. Right there, however, she felt alone. She felt as if part of her soul and heart was ripped out of her and crushed in front of her. She didn’t only lose one, but two men she loved so much, her family and the one she hoped to have a family with one day. All that was taken away from her, and it was all her fault.</p><p>“We got you.” Steve whispered, to which she simply nodded, giving him at least that acknowledgement. She knew they did. They always did.</p>
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